IT was “unpresidential” for President Duterte to single out and attack Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Sen. Richard Gordon said yesterday.
“Una pa lang binanatan niya si Sen. Drilon, I think it’s unpresidential. Malaki ang galit niya pero hindi dapat inilabas sa public. Marami siyang sinasabi na hindi dapat sabihin, that’s his business pero hindi kami nakiki-alam. Pero hindi niya dapat i-single out ang isang tao (From the start [of his SONA], President Duterte already took a shot at Sen. Drilon. I think that’s unpresidential. He has a lot of grudge against him but he should not have let it out in public. He also says a lot of things which he should not be saying, that’s his business so we really don’t interfere. But he should not have singled him out),” Gordon said.
In SONA delivered last Monday, Duterte took a swipe at Drilon for allegedly lawyering for the Lopez family who owns ABS-CBN Corp.
Drilon earlier said he was not defending the Lopezes when he that oligarchy can be stopped with the dismantling of political dynasties. He said he was merely speaking out his mind that he was in favor of the network’s franchise renewal as part of press freedom and in consideration for its 11,000 employees who will lose their jobs amid the COVID pandemic.
Drilon, in an interview over CNN Philippines, said his statement about the dismantling of political dynasties issue might have earned the ire of the President. Duterte’ daughter Sara is the mayor of Davao Cty, his son Sebastian is the city vice mayor, and another son Paolo is a congressman.
Drilon clarified that he was not referring to the President in particular when he made his comment.
“I don’t know why. Probably the President erroneously thought that I was after his family and that is because of my position on political dynasty. But that position I have on political dynasty was already there even before he [Duterte] became president. That is because I believe that indeed, dynasty would not be good for our system of democracy,” Drilon said.
“I have filed an anti-political dynasty bill on July 2016 during the 17th Congress even before the [Duterte] children got elected in public office,” he added.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the President’s attack on Drilon was just a cover up for the administration’s mishandling of the COVID-19 response.
“Instead of inspiring hope and presenting a cohesive plan to the Filipino people in the middle of a crisis, the President used is SONA to rant about is personal grudge against the media and assail his critics, including Senate minority leader Frank Drilon,” Hontiveros said.
“Clearly, walang plano para sa taumbayan (he has no plans for the country). These so-called attacks against the oligarchy are yet another distraction from the lack of leadership in handling this crisis,” she added.
